Kingdom Hearts: Blades of Reckoning
by Psychopithicus
Summary: Long ago, war was raged between light and darkness over control of the legendary X-Blade. Few know the true story of the Keyblade War, and how the actions of one man nearly destroyed every living thing in existence. But now, that tale shall be told. Probably AU.


**Hello, all. Those who had seen the Sony press conference at E3 will know of this wonderful piece of news: Kingdom Hearts III is finally in development, after so many years. As such, I sought to celebrate with something special, namely a look into the event upon which the Xehanort Saga is based: the Keyblade War.**

**Before I shut up and say "enjoy the story", let me note that this was conceptualized (and partially written) before Dream Drop Distance came out, and as such this will most likely end up being an AU. Regardless, I've said more than enough, so let's get on with the story!**

**Kingdom Hearts: Blades of Reckoning**

Prologue: War

A perfect world.

That was what everyone lived in. It was a world full of light, of jubilation and peace, where no one had any quarrel with one another. Everyone lived in utter harmony with one another as they went about their daily lives, farming and trading goods.

That ended today.

"Come on, open up!"

Several men crowded around a small house, each holding what appeared to be a greatly oversized key. One of the men beat his fist against the front door. No response. The man snarled angrily.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it," he growled. "Men, stand back."

The men backed away, allowing their apparent leader to point his massive key at the front door. Surprisingly, a beam of light erupted from the end of the key, which formed into a keyhole shape upon making contact with the door. A click was heard, and with a dangerous smirk, the man promptly kicked the now-unlocked door open.

"All right, you had your chance," the man growled, glaring at the house's sole occupants: a woman and her two young sons. "Now give us the mage!"

"No!" the woman shrieked, clutching the older of the two boys—around age twelve—closer to her. The younger one, a child of seven, clung desperately to his mother's side. "You won't take my son!"

"Is that so?" the man smirked. "Your son has infinite potential, which we mean to harness. Once he learns to channel his magic through a Keyblade, Kingdom Hearts is as good as ours."

"I won't let you drag my son into your insane war!" the mother screamed.

"So be it," the man shrugged. He pointed his key at her head. "Freeze!"

A spear of ice shot out of the key, heading straight for the woman's head.

Both of her children could only watch as she was slain before their eyes.

"NO!" the older boy yelled, quickly taking his mother's lifeless form in his arms. "Mother!"

"Come on, kid," one of the other men grunted, roughly grabbing the elder boy's arm and dragging him away. The younger brother failed to notice, for he was already grieving over his fallen mother, wailing as loudly as possible.

"I'm not going!" the older brother snapped, tearing his arm out of the man's grasp. "And you…can't…MAKE ME!"

A powerful light filled the boy's eyes, and soon an explosion of light quickly burst out of the boy's form. The men were caught up in the blast, the intense light instantly vaporizing their bodies. The light poured into the ground and began carving its way through the earth, ripping the land apart and slicing through even the planet's core.

The massive gaps caused by the cutting light began to emanate shadows, which somehow began to push the world's chunks apart. Massive space began to form between the chunks, with the remains of the house drifting off into the horizon. The other chunks followed suit, separating and floating into various directions.

It was the last day that the world held together.

Thirty years passed since that day.

Since then, the place that was once a home under siege was now a barren wasteland. No longer were there farms or settlements. Now, to the naked eye, there was naught but dust and wind.

And yet, even here there was life.

One man stood in the center of a large field. Once, this land bore fields ripe for farming. Now, it was quite literally a graveyard. Large keys, like the ones wielded by the soldiers, were planted in the ground. The man added to this, shoving the last of his fellows' weapons into this makeshift burial site. With a sigh, he looked into the night sky.

"After so many years," he said, "it is finally time to end this war…once and for all."


End file.
